[BC] Yes, A Good Finance Guy is our Best Friend

[Mike McCarthy]

This was not unexpected.....17 were fired from WBBM (CBS-TV 2) on 
Monday as well.  Included in the blood letting were 4 high profile 
on-air news types and two executive producers.  Included on the list 
was a very over paid 10PM anchor who did nothing to improve ratings 
during the 4+ years she was there.  Of the air staffers let go, their 
total experience is over 70 years with the most senior being 28 years 
on the air and married to another 20+ year news man on the same station.

http://www.suntimes.com/business/feder/870501,CST-FIN-feder01.article

As was noted earlier by the similarly ratio'd blood bath in Denver, I 
suspect these cuts will be made top to bottom across all markets and 
are endemic of the perils in today's economy.  That said, CBS station 
here has been a ratings also-ran for years.  Most notably due to 
their poor signal which is the worst of the major VHF stations here 
(including a PBS) as well as to some really boneheaded moves 
following the break up of Bill Kurtis and Walter Jacobson.



Do I think this is going to happen at WGN-TV?  Don't know.  They run 
a pretty tight ship there already.  Radio OTOH is an unknown...But 
they are a CASH COW and I think Sam Zell knows when to not goof up a 
good thing.

MM



At 06:57 PM 4/1/2008 -0500, Steve Newman wrote
>03-31) 21:02 PDT San Francisco -- Several veteran TV news reporters, 
>including Bay Area icons Bill Schechner and Manny Ramos, were laid 
>off Monday at CBS 5-TV (KPIX) in San Francisco in an apparent 
>cost-cutting move.
>The reporters, well known to Bay Area viewers for decades, were 
>among 14 newsroom employees let go.